2010-03-07 - Posted by S&T
Despite the recent massive earthquake in central Chile, and the considerable loss of life that ensued, there is at least some good news to report. Major professional and amateur observatories have escaped damage and remain operational.
There are two reasons why the major observatories escaped damage. First, they are well constructed, built to withstand earthquakes. Second, the largest observatories are situated in northern Chile and were thus many hundreds of kilometres away from the quake's epicenter near the city of Concepción.
Some of the major professional observatories include the European Southern Observatory sites at Paranal and La Silla, Gemini South Telescope (near Vicuña), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (also near Vicuña), and Las Campanas Observatory.
Why don't you check out and say g'day to our sister society in the US.